ALL SAINTS MARGARET STREET

Trinity XVIII, Evensong, 25 September 2005

Fr Ivan Aquilina

If we take a closer look at both readings that we have shared tonight we find six items of interest, three in each reading. They come to us in this order: a unified broken stick, peace, a vision of the germinating kingdom of God, the antichrist, faithfulness to the deposit of faith and finally spiritual combat. Looking at them like that they are very daunting but with some rearranging they have for us today a very clear message.

Much fiction of the Da Vinci Code proportion has been written about the antichrist. That having been said one can not ignore the way that throughout these last two thousand years the Church has understood the antichrist. There is a consensus today that the antichrist is all that goes against the vision of Christ for us, like all the suffering that is caused by human hands under their own influence or under the influence of the evil one. The antichrist must never be equated with an individual but with events that directly go against Christ and his teaching, therefore we equate as antichrist the holocaust, tyranny, oppression, heresy, exploitation, racism, hatred and so on. This combination of man made disorder and the influence of the evil one are the antichrist with which we are faced in the readings. We already know that these forces of evil are fighting a lost war; we trust in what the beloved said: “the gates of hell shall not prevail”. But we also know that this evil can damage us and draw us in to perpetuate this sad and dark record.

Aware of this risk we are summoned by John to engage in spiritual combat. The first necessary condition for this spiritual combat is to abide in Jesus, to be intimate with Jesus. We are intimate with him when we are familiar with the gospel, when we enter into dialogue with him in prayer, when we renounce sin and live loving lives.

To enable and equip us for this we have four suggestions in the readings:

1. Faithfulness to doctrine:
It is common practice in shops nowadays to offer pick and mix. Though very good in shops this trend has sadly made its way into the Church. It seems that the real and only true concept of conforming our lives to that of Christ and his teaching is now being modified into conforming Christ to what we perceive as our own needs. This results in a diluted faith which is not the one handed down to us and one that leads to self glorification rather than one in which God is glorified. It is incumbent upon us to make sure that, by examining our consciences we struggle, as Common Worship tells us, to submit to Christ and not the other way round.

2. Peace:
The ancient axiom that there will be no peace in the world if there is no peace in our hearts is very true. Tonight we are reminded to take stock of the presence of peace in our hearts. It is not that peace misunderstood for tranquillity. The peace that passes all understanding is that peace that keeps us still even when we are surrounded by the tempests of life. It is the peace that comes as a gift from God, a peace received in the moments of stillness, those most precious moments in which our ears are tuned to listen the word of God and our eyes fixed in gazing on Jesus the Word made flesh.

3. Unity:
The model of the broken stick in Ezekiel still holds true. A house divided within itself can not be strong to maintain and put forward its mission. A united house, a strong city, gives strength not just to proclaim the Gospel but to bring about a world order that starts to make sense. At this point in time it is sad to see division in the Church of God and people who make it their mission to further these divisions. We need to be conscious of our responsibilities within the Church to be a people that promote unity even if it is at a personal cost. There is nothing better than brothers and sisters living in the unity of the people of God in peace and in love.

4. Vision of the germinating kingdom of God:
We struggle with evil, with the antichrist, because we know what kind of order the evil of this world wants to destroy and prevent. In our struggle we need to keep in mind the vision of this kingdom which is yet to come, the Jerusalem the Golden, that kingdom in which justice, mercy and peace abound. The kingdom in which God dwells among his people for ever. The kingdom which gives us real fulfilment, that fulfilment that some of us seek in the pleasures and the disorders of this fleeting world. We need to look up, enjoy the vision and start bringing it about.

So, called to spiritual combat through holy lives of peace, of sound doctrine, of unity and vision we rejoice to be armed with the weapons of light and love and as this Thursday we honour Michael the Archangel we commend ourselves to his intercession especially in moments of weakness.