St George's Cathedral, Cape Town

A sermon preached by the Reverend Bruce W. B. Jenneker in the Cathedral Church of St George the Martyr in the City and Diocese of Cape Town at Evensong on the Twenty-Ninth Sunday of the Year, 22 October 2006

Karl Rahner, one the most significant theologians of the 20th century, said that the important thing about Christians is that they are those to whom a word is addressed. They are in fact 'Hearers of the Word.' Now it is true that Jews and Muslims are no less people whose faith is shaped by the words addressed to them in the Torah and in the Q'uran, respectively. With them we and they are People of the Word, People of the Book - those to whom God has spoken and who are attentive to God's Word. And let us give thanks with our Muslim brothers and sisters as they prepare to celebrate the end of Ramadan - that God may richly bless them with the renewal of their faith at this sacred time.

In the 6th century before Christ, God's word came to the People of God through the oracle of Haggai. Haggai was the first to prophesy after the Jews had returned from exile in Babylon. Now the Jews were back in the Promised Land - and there was nothing wonderful about it. The devastating wars had reduced the land to about 20 square miles, and this shrivelled territory was occupied, under the control of the Persians, who ruled over the people with tyranny and cruelty. Not only Jerusalem, but also the outlying towns and villages were all in ruins, fields were overrun with weeds, and the crops had failed for several successive years. This was truly a time of fear and panic. Soon the Jews were taking advantage of one another, selling into slavery those who were indebted to them. Jealously and hatred developed against those Jews who had stayed behind and never gone into exile. This beleaguered and tattered community was depressed and overwrought, but so riddled with prejudice that they rejected the help offered by the Samaritans to the north and utterly despised the Edomites to the south. Too downcast and impoverished are they to look to the Temple and rebuild it.

It is to these people, cast down, hopeless and overburdened that Haggai speaks the word of God. 'Consider how you have fared,' says the Lord. 'Consider how you have fared: you have sown much and harvested little; you eat and yet never have enough; you drink and yet never have your fill; you clothe yourselves and yet no one is warm; you work hard to earn your wages and yet it seems that you put them in a bag with holes. Consider how you have fared. You wouldn't rebuild the Temple. You thought that you had neither the energy nor the resources. With great care you took what little you had and invested it on your own basic needs. There was barely enough for those, you were poor and miserable and hungry. There was nothing to spare.'

Moments like these come to us too - in our careers or in our relationships, in our families and for us as a nation. No matter how hard we try, failure is all we achieve and depression is our only reward. To us, when we are downcast and overwrought comes the same prophetic word that Haggai spoke to the Jews after their exile in Babylon. Consider how you have fared - your priorities are all upside down. You sow and plant, you eat and drink, you take care of your needs and you work hard - and what do you have to show for your efforts? Consider how you have fared. Your first priority must be the glory of God.

How committed are we to the glory of God? Is the praise of the wonder of God on our lips as God wakes the day and lays it open before us? Does the splendour of the stars arrest our evening gaze? Do we see the roll and fold of the mountain with its sweep down to the sea, and say 'Thanks be to God?' How committed are we to the glory of God, being alert for it, ready to recognise it, eager to give thanks for it, and willing to expend ourselves in gratitude? Do we recognise God's grandeur in the gift of children and the possibility they hold? Are we awed by the liberating joy of forgiveness and the boundless depth of mercy that together meet our temptations and our failings?

This, says the word of God through the prophet Haggai, is where life begins. Here the root of existence and the scope of security – the glory of God. Otherwise you will sow much and harvest little; you will eat and yet never have enough; you will drink and yet never have your fill; you will clothe yourselves and yet no one will ever be warm; you will work hard to earn your wages and yet it will seem that you put them in a bag with holes. First God's grandeur, then your needs. Look first to God, always and for ever. Then everything else will fall into place.

How well the lesson from Matthew's Gospel fits with this prophetic word. The First Gospel has often been called the Gospel of the Church because it is the only Gospel in which the word Church is used. 'Church' is a New Testament word - it is used well over a hundred times in the New Testament. However it occurs only 4 times in the Gospels and all four times are in Matthew. We heard it used three times in the Second Lesson, the one other time it is used is when Jesus says of Peter that he is the rock on which he will build his church. The Greek word for Church means those who are being called out. We hear in this an echo of Karl Rahner's definition of Christians - those to whom a word is being addressed.

We are the Church. We are those to whom a word is being addressed. We are those who are being summoned. We are those who are being called out. And a prophetic word calls us out of the maelstrom of our culture and the rollercoaster of the world's impulses. We are being called out of the mainstream of materialism and selfishness, to stand in awe before the grandeur of God. Standing there, lost in wonder, love and praise, we see the world from the best perspective, we discern the true meaning of life, we discover our identity and our vocation.

We are the Church. We are those to whom a word is being addressed. We are being summoned. We are those who are being called out. Are we alert enough to hear the word being addressed to us? Are we listening for it, eagerly yearning for it? Are we ready to leave behind the maelstrom and rollercoaster out of which we are being called? Are we brave enough to step away from the norms and patterns of the world and instead dare to live for the praise of God's glory?

We are the Church. A word is being addressed to us. We are the Church. We are being called out of the world and into the Kingdom of God. It is fascinating that Haggai's prophetic word goes beyond the exhortation to live to the praise of God's glory. Beyond the exhortation is the promise of God's solidarity . Work, for I am with you, says the Lord, according to my promises, do not fear. Equally fascinating is the fact that Matthew's Gospel places the Church securely in the context of the presence of God – where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them, Jesus says. Life in the praise of God's glory is life in the presence of God, where all is well and all is well and all manner of thing is well.

As we consider our grateful response to God's glory during this time of Stewardship and Dedication, let us recommit ourselves to the work of hearing the word of God that calls us out and summons us to be the Church. Then with cheerful hearts and loving wills let us give ourselves freely, wholeheartedly and joyfully to live to the praise of God's glory.

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