Evensong for the London Mayors
Westminster Abbey
15 October 2023
The Bishop of Stepney, The Rt Revd Dr Joanne Woolway Grenfell
Wisdom 1:1-6, 11; Luke 19.29-40
“As Jesus came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.”
Jesus wept as he surveyed Jerusalem. Many of us will have wept too, as we have watched news reports this week of the attacks on Israel and of the ensuing retaliations in Gaza; news reports that are powerful in both their scope and detail as they highlight the human cost of violence, for Jews, Muslims, and Christians.
I wonder, when we weep, whether we do so because we feel powerless, or because we feel sorrow.
When we feel we lack power, we can end up seeking to tighten our grip, to regain control. Tears express our frustration at not getting our own way. Why can’t someone sort this out?
When we feel sorrow, compassion may follow, taking us to a vulnerable but ultimately more honest place; there are some sorrows that are too deep for us to solve or erase, that we may need to ponder for a while.
And, as we ponder, we weep.
When Jesus wept, I don’t believe that he was seeking control: although his arrival in Jerusalem fulfilled some of the Scriptures’ prophecies, this was no triumphal entry in the expected sense. His enemies, all those who sought the ways of violence rather than of peace, were still waiting. He wept from sorrow and with compassion, with tears that came from the heart of God, out of love for all his precious children.
I wonder if we may be guided both by Jesus’ tears and by the wisdom of the Scriptures, as we survey the violence in Israel, even as it affects Jerusalem itself.
We could respond from our sense of powerlessness, seeking to join the quest to make sense of the events that are unfolding before our eyes, and to control them. We could join in with the polarized debates of social media and the clamouring voices charged with brittle certainty. We could be swept up in a discourse where might is right, and where the complexities of history and identity are lost in in a din of resounding gongs and clanging cymbals.
Or we could weep with Jesus, and we could seek a different language, one of vulnerability, compassion, and love.
Let’s be clear. Choosing the language of love is not about being silent, or complicit.
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, order your disciples to stop.’ He answered, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.’
Jesus teaches that every disciple has a place in the public sphere and, with it, a responsibility to speak out for what is right. If we do not, the stones – of this great Abbey, and of all the holy dwelling places of God recognized by good people of faith across the world – will surely cry out, and weep, in our stead. We have an urgent responsibility to speak of the suffering our brothers and sisters.
As we speak, the language we choose shapes our world, for good or ill. The Book of Wisdom, addressed, according to its opening verses, to the rulers of the earth – and I think that includes the mayors of London – urges all to love righteousness and seek wisdom. So, let’s focus, in those allotted opening verses, on three brief thoughts: on truth speaking, on inner motivations, and on the quality of our common discourse.
Verse 5: truth telling. “For a holy and disciplined spirit will flee from deceit, and will leave foolish thoughts behind, and will be ashamed at the approach of unrighteousness.” Speak the truth, help others to speak the truth, and take a righteous approach. From our different faith traditions, we will have different perspectives. We don’t need to settle for a mush of samey indifference. So let us speak the truth, but let us do so wisely, in a way that makes a meaningful and proportionate contribution to the debate, as far as possible without infringing on the rights or beliefs of others.
Verse 6: inner motivations. “Wisdom is a kindly spirit but will not free blasphemers from the guilt of their words.” We need to develop an ethic of speaking well, not just politely, but with a good heart and with the best of motives. We need to listen properly, respond with kindness, notice and restrain our use of power, and describe with generosity our opponents’ cases, assuming that they too are good hearted.
Verse 11: the quality of our common discourse. “No secret word is without result, and a lying mouth destroys the soul.” If we can see the consequences of polluting the rivers of speech and language in which we all swim, then we will want to moderate our speech accordingly, avoiding poisonous or polarizing language and making space for those who are marginalized or minoritized to receive their full rights and to be heard. Contribute well to the well of our common life.
My faith – my faith in a Saviour who wept – leads me to want to speak from sorrow and compassion, and to bear witness to a love made manifest in vulnerability and weakness. I believe that Wisdom leads us along this path. My hope is that all good people of faith may feel similarly able to speak from love and with wisdom as they contribute to the common good in this city that we love, and throughout the world.
There are also words of wisdom here for the Church of England and its leadership. Jesus teaches us to attend to our own failings before judging others. There are contentious matters which are being addressed by the Church at the moment through its Living in Love and Faith conversations, matters which have not always been addressed with the care, generosity, and concern for the vulnerable that they deserve.
As much as I am preaching to any gathered here. I am also preaching this afternoon to myself and my colleagues. We are hypocrites if we can’t see the plank in our own eye but are so very keen to seize on the speck in that of our opponent (Matt 7.5).
Whatever our religious or cultural affinities and differences, may we all examine our hearts, and seek to speak the truth, to speak well of each other, and to contribute positively to the well of our common life. May we hold onto the perspective of the heavenly city as we seek the peace and prosperity of our city – and pray that God will also grant such peace and prosperity to Jerusalem.
Amen.
Wisdom 1:1-6, 11 (NRSV)
Love righteousness, you rulers of the earth,
think of the Lord in goodness
and seek him with sincerity of heart;
because he is found by those who do not put him to the test,
and manifests himself to those who do not distrust him.
For perverse thoughts separate people from God,
and when his power is tested, it exposes the foolish;
because wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul,
or dwell in a body enslaved to sin.
For a holy and disciplined spirit will flee from deceit,
and will leave foolish thoughts behind,
and will be ashamed at the approach of unrighteousness.
For wisdom is a kindly spirit,
but will not free blasphemers from the guilt of their words;
because God is witness of their inmost feelings,
and a true observer of their hearts, and a hearer of their tongues.
Beware then of useless grumbling,
and keep your tongue from slander;
because no secret word is without result,
and a lying mouth destroys the soul.
Luke 19: 29–end (NRSV)
When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, saying, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, “Why are you untying it?” just say this: “The Lord needs it.” ’ So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, ‘Why are you untying the colt?’ They said, ‘The Lord needs it.’ Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying, ‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!’ Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, order your disciples to stop.’ He answered, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.’ As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.’ Then he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there; and he said, ‘It is written, “My house shall be a house of prayer”; but you have made it a den of robbers.’ Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard.
