St George's Cathedral, Cape Town

A sermon preached by the Very Reverend Rowan Smith in the Cathedral Church of St George the Martyr at Evensong on 21 February 2010

"Now the word of the Lord came to me saying. Before l formed you in the womb l knew you, and before you were born l consecrated you, l appointed you a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1 v 4

We are truly blessed living here in Cape Town with the natural beauty and our cultural heritage. This past week, for example, l was invited to the new theatre, here at the edge of District Six, named in honour of Athol Fugard. What a magnificent transformation of a former Congregational Church and a textile warehouse. The play l saw is based on the medical Mystery plays and it was a bit like our Cathedral as the actors used Xhosa, Latin and English. What a powerful performance with a dynamic cast combining acting with singing and dancing. Anyone who knows the Bible would have an understanding of Mysteries, because it talks essentially of God's love in all creation and how both human and divine creatures seek to be equal with God, which leads to their downfall. Ultimately, the one who comes forth from the heart of the Father, Jesus Christ is able to break our self-inflicted bondage by his humility and abundance as we hear in tonight's New Testament lesson:

"Very truly l tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own but only, what he sees the Father doing…" John 5 v 19

St John sees the Son as revealing not only the Father's love but also that the only way of entering into our redemption is through love. Our salvation, our being set free from the power of sin and death, is through love and we are only our true selves when we love. Our Lenten acts of discipline are not therefore, burdens we take on but our gracious response to love and a desire to grow in holiness. We do so, not for our own self-gratification but that the Father's love may be manifest in the world. Our relationship with God must mirror that of the Son because we by adoption and grace are the children of God. So too, the Old Testament lesson reminds us of our vocation: God says:

"Before then, l formed you in the womb l knew you and before you were born l consecrated you…"

That vocation, our being sent by God in the power of the Holy Spirit is given to each one at our Baptism. We too like Jesus have the received the Holy Spirit and we too are appointed by God to go the nations – beginning in our own homes and our own communities. I wish we could all have seen the Mysteries because the play also brings out how satan continues to create disorder and violence in our world. It seems that little has changed in the world because of our failure to obey God's commandments. Jesus by his life and death shows us the true and living way of being human:

"… whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. The Father loves the Son and shows him all he himself is doing." v 18b

Lent calls us to look at ourselves in the light of God's love, that love that transfigures Jesus on the mountain. In the gospel of today we read:

" … while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed and his clothes became dazzling white…" Luke 9 v 29

During Lent we too set aside particular time to simply be present with God and allow our inner being to be transfigured by the love which is the source of our life. Then like Jeremiah God touches our mouth and reminds us:

"Now l have put my words in your mouth, See today l appoint you over nations and over kingdom." v 9

Whatever our occupation whatever our situation. These words are both assuring and challenging and Our Lord Jesus also promises that the Holy Spirit will teach us what to say, but the challenge lies in not allowing the nations to overwhelm us. One of our Lenten Hymns encourages us:

"Christian answer boldly,
While l breathe l pray;
Peace shall follow battle,
Night shall end in day." AMR 91

The secret lies in our not just knowing God's grace but living boldly in that grace. It means having our eyes fixed on Jesus, who knows our every weakness and never condemns since the Father has given all judgement to him as the Son, the Son who has taken on completely our human nature.

This point is made so powerfully also in the book 'The Shack'', God is not judge, we in our humanity are. But now we are encouraged as the journey through this Lent that God affirms us all:

"… before l formed you in the womb l knew you, and before you were born l consecrated you."

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