Sermon 14th May 2017 - St. Paul's AGM

Today, our much loved Vicar, Cameron Barker, delivers his final sermon for the Parish of Herne Hill. The reading is from Hebrews 12: 1-6. 

Time is very short today; so I’ll just tell you – unless anyone gets it instantly – what Alexander the Great and Winnie the Pooh have in common. Nobody? It’s their middle name: of course! But do please store that piece of information in an accessible place because it matters: for today, and beyond.

Normally on this Sunday I try, as Vicar, to set the context for the AGM that follow this short service. We all know that it’s daft to review a year that ended over 4 months ago; but that’s how the Church of England system works. But this year there’s a rather bigger reviewing needed, because this is my last Sunday as Vicar. As regulars know, I’ve long been in the habit of not just preaching at the start of each new series but also at the end of them, to try and summarise our learning from the whole. So today I’ll confess that when I preached – yes, at both churches – on my first Sunday here I decided I’d have this same passage on my last. Even though on that 21^st May I did talk about the Christian life as more a marathon than a sprint, I didn’t think that this moment would take fully 17 years to arrive at!

I also said then that I didn’t usually preach traditional 3-point sermons, let alone ones using the same letter. Well, this is the first time that I’ve done it since; and of course it’s the same 3 points now; all starting with letter A. The application (which is another A) of them is rather different 17 years on; but today we still first have something that we need to Acknowledge; second, something to Admit; and then, third, Action to take as result of that.

First the Acknowledging: today it’s just the same as it was 17 years ago: that we are still surrounded by a great cloud of witness. By that the writer of this letter meant those great heroes of faith in chapter 11. We’ve looked at them – in all their improbabilities – over the years. In 2000 I said that what made them into heroes of faith and what makes them this large crowd of witnesses around us now, was their trust in God’s sure ability to do the things that they’d hoped for. What they did – and still do today – is to cheer people on as they run the race of faith that God’s called each person to join in this place.

And here’s the point about that middle name in common. Anyone and everyone who’s in this place, part of this church, has these same witnesses watching; cheering; encouraging trust in God’s sure ability to be at work here. They’re doing it for those who joined at the recent APCM just as much as they are for those who were here decades before I arrived; for those who are the most involved in the life of this church, as they are for those who are least involved in it. Above all, they’re hoping for this key Admission, second: that the race of faith in this place is far from over. Today ‘just’ marks the start of another lap, or leg of the race: deeper into whatever it is God that has in store next for the Parish of Herne Hill; for St Saviour’s and St Paul’s.

On my first Sunday here I recognised that I was joining a very much going concern. Today I’m leaving one that also still very much is: thanks to the grace and goodness of God. Many times over the years I’ve said that Vicars come and go but it’s the church that carries on in that place; and today it’s crucial to admit this for the fact that it is. The task is unchanged for this parish: for all who are part of each church it is to run with determination the race that still lies ahead. If anything, as our ways part after these 17 years, it’s more important than ever to admit it.

There are undoubtedly challenges ahead in next part of the race here; challenges that nobody has had to face for many years. There are all sorts of big questions needing to be asked, and answered. There will necessarily be changes to what happens, and to how it happens; and not everyone likes change! So now really is the time to fix eyes on Jesus: the pioneer, and perfecter, of faith, then; remembering that it’s his church first and foremost. In this just-after-Easter context above all, don’t ever forget what he gave in order to for any of this to be possible. He “endured the cross”, remember; “scorning its shame” – because he knew the joys that surely lay ahead. And that is another truth to be held onto through whatever now lies ahead.

Today there’s something to Acknowledge: this cheering presence of a great crowd of witnesses. There’s something to Admit: the race goes on; it’ll take determination to keep on running it; but there is the best possible role-model to look to. And third, there’s Action to take. On that first Sunday I said that I was sure God wanted His church here to grow: upwards in relating to Him; outwards in sharing the good news of Jesus with more people in this community; and together in our relationships with one another. That growth needed to be built on the foundations of all that’d gone before here; and I’d say, in summary, that it has been. I’d also say that there has been all sort of further Godly growth in that time too.

The message that I most want to leave you with today is that further action is now necessary. God’s planned growth for this parish is far from over. The potential here is enormous, and hugely exciting, I firmly believe. So it’s time to find God’s new ways into that further growth; with someone else to lead the Parish of Herne Hill into it. It has been quite an adventure getting to here; with that crowd of witnesses ever cheering us onward in the race of faith; and there has been plenty of action to make it happen. But just stop and listen for a moment … Can you hear that crowd of witnesses: cheering you on; urging you to be determined; to keep on running the race; to fix your eyes on Jesus afresh? I certainly can as I leave here: full of praise for what God has done; and full of faith for what He’s going to do next. So Acknowledge the crowd; Admit the race need running; and each take Action need; and may God bless you all as you do so in His name. Amen.