Some time in the later 1960s a young choirboy in a church in Bradford sang, for the first time for him, the words “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again, unto a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”. They are from 1 Peter 1, our New Testament reading tonight. The fact that I typed them from memory is a testament to the power of music in worship: you remember what you sing in ways that go beyond mere repetition.
Much could be said about the anthem, not least that Samuel Sebastian Wesley composed it for Hereford Cathedral who had, at the time, lots of trebles and one bass available, possibly the Dean’s Butler. Today I want to reflect on the odd fact that, though the passage it quotes is at the heart of the Christian faith in the death and resurrection of Christ, and though the anthem is often used at Easter, I have never, in 34 years of ordained life, preached on it. This is compounded by the fact that tonight’s Old Testament reading from Ecclesiastes, is even better known, and I’ve never really preached on that either.
Both passages offer profound binary contrasts. Qohelet, the preacher of Ecclesiastes , writes a poem(the first of the book), quoting the opposites of birth and death, planting and harvesting, killing and healing, and so on. There is a time for everything. I have preached on other passages from Qohelet, and, beautiful as this is, there is no escaping the weariness and long suffering of the preacher. Trying to sort life out is like herding the wind, like trying to do something with flimsy vapour. I hope I detect some warmth here, some sense that in recognising that life has twists and turns, ups and downs, we should not seek to over interpret, but can recognise that seasons will change and new things will be.
I’m, sure that when people choose this for funerals, it is in the hope that the awful times will be succeeded by good times. It may be that, looking back over the life of a loved one, it is recognised that there have been such contrasts for them, and especially when there has been something unfulfilled or unsatisfactory, the presence of fulfilling times can provide balance as we look back. But, Qohelet being Qohelet, it could also be that he is saying not to rely on the good seasons triumphing. If it is good now there will be bad things to come. I’m going to go for the sense of hope: that God has put the sense of past and future in the minds of human beings, as Qohelet says, and that a life seen as a whole will put both good and bad in their places within the purposes of God for us all.
Peter does not shy away from the seasons of life which are marked by suffering and complexity. His letter is addressed to exiles in churches scattered by suffering and persecution. He speaks of trials, being perishable and being tested by fire. The whole letter is written with this context. Later he talks of ordeals, being reviled, and of suffering. But rather than this being a season in the Qohelet scheme, Peter says it is part of the following o Christ which will ultimately lead to glory. He reminds his hearers that, though there is suffering in the normal course of life, there is also the unjust suffering which joins us to the trials and persecution of Christ.
Such trials are not a proof that the victory of Christ is hollow or without efficacy, but join us to the purposes of God, birthing us into the imperishable and undefiled inheritance of those “in Christ”. We should not feel that having faith in God will immunise us from the seasons of suffering which Qohelet speaks of, though we can trust in God’s presence with us and with all who suffer, and we can trust in our ultimate deliverance through death to life. And we can also trust that, as Christ suffered, so will those who are in him: witness the presence on our church of growing numbers of people who have had to flee their native Iran because they have become Christians. The faithful look to the salvation of souls, through and in Christ, whatever comes.
It is a testament to the unpredictability of life that I have only been caused to preach on these great passages for the first time tonight in nearly 40 years of sermons (I checked by old paper notes too!). Life, like investments, will go down and up, and the long Qohelet view will be needed in the different seasons we endure. In all of this the eternal is placed in the hearts of all, by God who is above all and in all. The calling of the Christian is to testify to the love and forgiveness of God, and that will not always be heard well. There will be challenge and even disaster too. In all of this is the eternal life and love of God, as Peter says, kept in heaven for you, ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this seasons, and in all that we face, may we know the eternal presence, life and hope of God, that whatever comes, the outcome of our faith will be to rejoice in glory. Amen.