Ecumenical Gospel Vespers

SERMON BY CANON JIM ROSENTHAL at St Stephen Walbrook, home of the London Internet Church

Tonight we anticipate Michaelmas, the feast in the Christian calendar called St Michael and All Angels. The all angels refer to the archangels that have mention in the Bible and in the broader universal tradition:  Michael, the standard-bearer, who does battle in heaven with Satan, Gabriel, the messenger, who greets Our Lady at the Annunication; Raphael, associated with healing and Uriel, linked with divine fire and action, so watch out for that angel. 
Michaelmas means – Michael’s Mass – the celebration of the eucharist for a feast, like indeed Christmas, Christ’s Mass or February 2, Candlemas, the Mass of the Candles. 

One writer put it this way:
Banners of peace
O Holy Archangel
Give to your church
Christ’s body on earth
War once in heaven
Is now all around us
Defend the daughters
And sons of new birth

I actually was very uncomfortable preparing this talk and still am. I wondered why?  Devils and Evil, can it really be. Well one evening of telly proved for me that this is all too real and that the battle is in high gear.
Do you know what people in the UK and USA and others call entertainment; the just latest round of films; one proudly called EVIL; one DEVILS, and even those with gentler titles are filled with VAMPIRES, KILLING, TORTURE, deception – my God, what the hell are we doing – and I use hell wisely. In some ways friends we – through the evil that surrounds – we have created pure hell on earth and sometimes it seems evil is winning.  Over come evil with good says the Bible, but when evil becomes entertainment we are much sicker than one can imagine.  Of course zealot Muslims think we are heathen when we seem to enjoy the exaltation of evil while hiding virtue, truth and compassion under a bushel, remember the kids song about the light of Christ, it sang hude it under a bushel, no, I am going let it shine….well better get some long life candles, cause we are in trouble,  Even as I form these words I hestitate to be too strong, as to not offend, but friends does not the TV and films of today offend you; if they don’t then let me say as priest I tell watch out – cause you need some shock therapy is the shocks of 911, 77, Jamie Bulger, Stephen Lawrence are not enough.

We avoid confronting wrong or evil.  The other night I saw a rare sight in London -  a police car with two seemingly able bodied men – the drove slowly up the street, and I was thrilled, I had this fantasy of them looking around, checking the scenes, to see if all was well….when they reached me – in my collar – I gave a priestly wave, but alas, you guessed, they were oblivious to me and the street, they were chatting like school kids. I sighed and kept on foot. I did not feel protected or served. The most powerful force in all the world to strike at evil and the devil is a simple word: that word is the name above all names to which all knees must bow, we have a lot of work to do, that name is Jesus. We better learned to bow at the name and not see the name as a routine curse word that you hear on the streets all the time….why are they calling Jesus….it is an arrow prayer or a curse or just ignorant stupidy..is any swearing with Mohammed or Moses, why profane Jesus. One friend told me, it is cultural, we all do, and when I hear people of other apparent traditions I just cant believe it.

As Anglicans, URCs, Methodists, Roman Catholics we see these in a different frameworks, and that is history and reality. But I think the visit of Benedict XVI can give us a refuelling point, to sharpen our awareness of evil in music, books, films, internet and Telly and try our best with Michael and his team’s help to shout JESUS CHRIST when we see that evil making its inroads into our lives whether we like it or not.

The glorification of evil can only be stopped by us, followers of the light and life.

Let’s get to it and fast.

Amen.