The Bishop of Beverley - Sermon for the Northern Provincial Festival

Sermon at the Blessing of the New Hall

S Aidan’s Church in the Parish of S Augustine, Tonge Moor

Whosoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty. John 15 v5

I like to watch those programmes on television where, from time to time, someone produces some old probably antique piece of equipment and then the expert has to try and work out for what particular task that item had been fashioned. I sometimes find myself thinking the same thing about buildings. Those wonderful vast country houses, often now maintained by the National Trust, were certainly not planned so that you and I might wander round and enjoy them. They were certainly not built for the benefit of the housemaids who had to rise early on freezing cold mornings to light fires or who had to be available any time of the day or night for their employers. No, the main purpose of those houses was that their owners should enjoy life to the full.

In the same way people sometimes come up with strange answers as to why the Church exists and as to why various things go on in it. There is, for instance, a account of how two ladies in Somerset, in the Nineteenth Century, used to turn up every year at one of the bishop’s few confirmation services and seek to be confirmed over and over again. When eventually discovered and challenged on the matter the two ladies explained that they had found confirmation extremely beneficial to their health! When I was a parish priest a similar thing happened to me. A grandmother explained to me that she liked all her grandchildren to be baptised as she had long noticed that children who were baptised were far less likely to catch either mumps or measles. It is easy to smile but the truth is that all of us probably come to church out of mixed motives. A very prominent bishop told me the other day that he first started coming to church as a teenager because he was besotted by twin girls who sang in the church choir. Some of us come out of guilt. Some of us come out of loneliness. Some of us come because we think it is the best way to get our children into a decent school and, I expect, everyone of us in church today could add a few more things to the list.

Few, if any, of these reasons for coming to church are completely bad or wrong in themselves. They just do not tell the whole story. Jesus tells us the deepest reason for sharing in the life of the Church in today’s Gospel. Jesus tells us that we come to share in His life, to be as much a part of Him as the branch is of the vine tree. In other words, the deepest of reasons why you and I come to church is to unite our lives with that of Jesus. One of the ancient Fathers of the Church says that He [Jesus] became human that we might we might be divine. Just think for a moment of what you and I are doing in this service today. We receive Holy Communion, that is Jesus Himself. So you and I are made one with Jesus, offered with Him in perfect love to God. At the same time you and I are changed more and more into people who are like Jesus because, increasingly He lives in us and changes us to become more and more like Him.

And Jesus says that:

Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty.

In other words, people who live in Jesus and He in them make a difference. They bear fruit just in the same way as the branches of a vine bear large bunches of grapes. That in a nutshell is the reason for the new church hall that we are dedicating today. This splendid church hall gives us the opportunity more and more to put our faith into action. No doubt there will be many times when all of us will be using the new hall as a place in which we can enjoy ourselves. And why not? The Gospels tell us that Jesus loved a good party. Indeed, people once complained that Jesus always seemed to be enjoying Himself with wine bibbers. The very first of Jesus’ recorded miracles was turn water into wine. Jesus, as the Gospels portray Him, seems to be far removed from the quasi-puritanical character into which we Christians have managed occasionally to turn Him. Let this hall echo with the noise of people enjoying themselves and then this hall will be giving a glimpse of the eternal laughter of heaven. And since heaven is an invitation to everyone, let this hall be a resource, as far as is possible, for all people of the local community as we seek to serve them in Jesus’ name.

Jesus, remember, came to serve and not be served. In all kinds of ways the local community can now be served from these premises. No doubt, there will be special activities to support those with particular needs. No doubt, too, the new hall will be a place where partnerships can be put in place and deepened as Christians here join with civic and community leaders in providing as much as is humanly possible in caring for the local community and, indeed, helping it better to care for itself. One of the fruits of the vine, one of the consequences of living in Jesus and He in us, is that you and I will be better servers and carers because Jesus is the most perfect server and carer there could ever be.

This afternoon, then, is a time of great thanksgiving; for the vision that has brought this new hall into being, for the financial resources that have made it possible, and, not least, for the architect and building team who have literally put the building together. Above all, this afternoon is a time for thanksgiving that God reaches out to us and takes us up into His life. That is what happens at every Mass. It is what is happening here in this church this afternoon. In turn you and I are renewed in our call to share with Christ in His love for everyone, be it in partying and in simple service. This afternoon we thank God for giving us yet more of such an opportunity.