Why Gandhi Never Went To Church Again - And What Jesus Wants To Do About It

A version of this sermon was first delivered on 10th September 2006 at Holy Trinity Barkingside - a slightly amended version (with Part Three added) was delivered Sunday 21 July 2024 at St Barnabas Northolt. As Anglo-Catholics we have a set of four readings (Old Testament, Psalm, Epistle and Gospel) with our clergy wearing traditional robes, and played with that structure for delivering this sermon in 3 parts. The sermon however is only on the reading from Ephesians 2:11-22

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PART ONE (delivered before Ephesians reading - before speaking take my alb off revealing myself in a suit and tie - ie secular clothes)

Welcome to the department of immigration. As you know, we have had a certain amount of trouble recently with illegal immigrants, asylum seekers, people without visas, and other troublesome foreigners. I would like to bring to your attention the following three candidates who I hope you will agree need to be deported forthwith

Firstly,

Nicholas from Myra– a Turkish National. Illegal immigrant and religious leader or “Bishop“. He is guilty of multiple illegal entries into this country on the same day each year, attempting to corrupt the Young through bribes and unsolicited presents, and numerous counts of breaking an entering usually via chimneys. he also goes by the aliases Saint Nicholas, Santa Claus, and Father Christmas

Secondly

George, a Palestinian National. His supporters claim he slays supernatural creatures. More reliable intelligence shows him to be a former soldier and religious fanatic, sentence to death for defying a legitimate military order to show loyalty to his head of state by sacrificing to him. He has no demonstrable connection with this country but is known to have been labouring here without a work permit as “patron saint“,

Thirdly

Saul of Tarsus, who also goes by the names paul or Saint Paul. Shows how even people from the best backgrounds can succumb to dangerous fanaticism. He is a university, the educated professor of Judaism and a full citizen of a highly respected Roman Empire who gave it all up when he switched to an extreme sect the“Jesus followers“

He compares a membership of this sect to citizenship and claims that loyalty to Jesus and to the “new Israel“ worldwide community of Jesus followers should take priority over loyalty to the state.

All three should be deported for forthwith

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PART TWO (delivered straight after Ephesians reading, still in a suit and tie)

My friends - our nation has a problem. in the past Christianity with something harmless quaint and old-fashioned something that could be described as a white peoples religion. Something very English. Cucumber sandwiches with the vicar. Miss Marple, Jane Austin. Harmless quaintness…

But in the last couple of decades Christianity has started becoming a dangerous sect. Why even recently we have had Archbishops who weren’t even English - the last but one Archbishop of York was Ugandan, and the last but one Archbishop of Canterbury was …. [horrified tone of voice] … WELSH! We need to get it back to being for Englishmen at prayer - and cucumber sandwiches

The problem is the Christians have started reading Saint Paul. Almost every one of his letters in the Bible encourages Christians of different racial groups to interrelate and react as equals Jews or Gentiles. “In Christ there is no Jew or Greek” of course Jesus‘s message was meant to be for the whole world, but the earliest Christians were sure of the racial superiority of one group -the Jews -so anyone who wanted to become a Christian needed first to become Jewish. Now obviously we are not Jews - but we know they really meant the English!

Until St Paul turned it on his head, Paul had lived in the world with different races lived in very different places Jews hated gentles;

{nodding head enthusiastically as I say all this bad stuff}, gentles hated Jews. Jews did not even eat with gentles

but he says in Ephesians chapter 2 Jesus made both groups into one {reading with horror}. v15"He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, so that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two” - {deep breath}

Of course there have been plenty of patriotic people who have CALLED themselves Christians.

Patriotic Protestants in Northern Ireland who called themselves Christians who shout abuse to little children on the way to school

Patriotic Catholics in Northern Ireland who called themselves Christians who blew up shopping malls

Patriotic Americans who call themselves Christians and wave their MAGA flags demanding the babies of illegal immigrants are separated from their mums at the border

Patriotic white people in South Africa who called themselves Christians who supported Apartheid

Patriotic black Zimbabweans who called themselves Christians while murdering elderly white farmers

Patriotic Hutus who called themselves Christians who murdered Tutsis in the Rwandan genocide