It is remarkable that no matter how far Christianity has receded in popular estimation people still have an ungrudging respect for what they understand by the word. The Sermon on the Mount has much to do with this. And a sentence in the middle of it (Matthew 5.48) is largely responsible. ‘There must be no limit to your goodness,’ we read.
Good wine needs no bush, as we used to say and as Shakespeare says in the epilogue to ‘As you like it.’. In other words, goodness has no need of advertising. All goodness has to do is to appear. When it is let off the leash, it wins approval all round. It puts other people first. It is generous. It does not condemn. It can make serious changes in society. It can cope with being misunderstood. If this is Christianity, we want more of it.
Cue red shameful face. We have to admit that on this understanding there is less Christianity about than we would wish.
If that sentence from the Sermon is not enough, then there is the Golden Rule (Matthew 7.12): ‘Always treat others as you would like them to treat you.’ Again, people might say; ‘If this is Christianity, give us more of it.’
But it isn’t and we don’t, we may respond. Christianity is about belief, the belief that in Christ God became one of us. To be a Christian is to believe (Romans 10.9). Quite so. And what follows inevitably is that we put the Sermon on the Mount into practice. Unfortunately we are not so good at that. And the initial respect for Christianity fades. But it’s never too late to do better.
FIRST IN BLACKPOOL
Until 1821 All Hallows’ church, Bispham was the only place of worship in Blackpool. Today it is a flourishing church with a packed time-table. ‘Herald’, the parish magazine, gives all the details, including the Jacaranda café. Jonny Wei Sing Lee, the newly appointed Rector, leads a strong ministry team.
ALDRIDGE AV
No, not the Authorised Version but the St Mary’s Aldridge website welcoming volunteers to help at the audio-visual control desk – which looks like something on loan from Houston and clearly has extensive capabilities. But then, Aldridge does not think small. It has held a drive-in and walk-in Communion service and has not let the grass grow under its feet over the past 750 years. The Rector is Steve Doel.
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