The Gray Monk

John 6 v 66: From this time forth many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

May I speak and may you hear in the name of the one true and only God, Father Son and Holy Spirit,
Amen

Tucked around the corner from here and up in the angle of the South Transept and the triforium is a trefoil window with rather romantic representations of the three graces outlined in St Paul’s famous line from his epistle to the Corinthians, “Now abideth these three, Faith, Hope and Charity, but the greatest of these is Charity.” And it seems to me that many of those who flocked the Jesus, the prophet, teacher, healer must, initially, have had at least two of the three. They must have had hope in their hearts as they ventured out to hear his words, and they would certainly have exercised some faith at least as they witnessed the miracles and heard his words. But did they have Charity – or to give it the modern meaning – did they love Him?

Some of you may remember that, during the darkest days of World War II the island of Malta was defended from the air by three small outdated biplanes – Gloster Gladiators I believe – named whimsically by their aircrew as Faith, Hope and Charity. And in an ironic parallel with St Paul’s words, it was Charity that survived the battle to defend the island until more aircraft could be flown in. But Charity is tough, sometimes very tough, for Charity is never about returns or rewards. Charity is about giving love, not money or material things, but giving in a whole and undemanding manner. Our modern understanding of this word is sadly debased and abused!

Our Gospel this morning tells us that many of Jesus followers, when once confronted by the reality of His ministry, rather than the fantasy of their dream of restoration of the Kingdom of David, began to lose the “Charity” they had for Him. As they drifted away we can almost hear the muttering “who does he think he is? He demands so much and he isn’t giving us the restoration!” They failed to understand the meaning of His teaching, and many took umbrage when he said:

“The spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.”

These words are key to understanding the relationship between belief and faith, between hope and belief, between charity and faith, hope and faith. For faith comes of the spirit, not out of understanding or out of anything that is tangible or measurable. Charity, that love that gives of itself expecting no reward, is also a manifestation of the spirit, the same spirit that gives life. Like faith it is seldom tied to anything tangible or material and springs from someone’s spiritual health and wealth – yes, the greater a persons wealth in material terms, the more they can give to the aid of others, but sometimes the material is not what is needed or demanded by charity, rather it is the renewal of the spirit, the growth of another’s spirit through the ministrations of another.

Speaking, as He was, to Jews used to the Hellenistic concepts and philosophical arguments about death and life beyond death, they would have had difficulty with the concept of a Kingdom based on a life beyond the grave. Indeed, those of the Sadducees persuasion would not have given this much credence at all. This is the life, this is the all – do good for God, reap the reward and enjoy it while you may! The Pharisees had a much deeper view, believing that there was an afterlife – but one restricted to those who obeyed the letter of every law – and even then you could not be sure you’d get in! So Jesus teaching that God welcomed all who simply accepted Him was an anathema to one group, an insult to another and the Gentiles probably hedged their bets!

Many came, some found healing, some found faith, some even found the true meaning of the Gospel, the love that transcends everything else and underpins the rest. As St Paul says, if you speak with the tongues of people and of angels but you have not Charity – you are the same as gong or a cymbal. Just a great, and sometimes unpleasant, noise.

Those who truly loved Jesus stayed with Him and followed to the foot of the Cross – yes, even those who ran away to hide at the very last, came creeping back out of love. That is the difference between true faith and faith built on anything other than the spiritual grace which comes from God and brings us the true Charity of which St Paul speaks.

Jesus challenged his disciples when the going started to get tough. Saying:

“You do not want to leave too, do you?”

And in Charity and Faith, no doubt laced strongly with Hope, St Peter answered:

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life!”

Our window is very beautiful, and the artist has given us a lovely image of the three Graces from St Paul’s letter, but how much thought do we give to this important trinity of Grace? Do we have the Faith that can move mountains? Do we have the Hope that stands firm in the face of danger and adversity? Above all do we have the Charity that goes on giving even when we have nothing left to give? Do we have the Love that transforms the believer into the Disciple, the sceptic into the Believer? Do we have the Love that looks into the face of Jesus and, even when we do not like or understand what we hear, asks

“Lord, to whom should we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God!”

“And now abide these three, faith, hope and charity, but the greatest of these is charity!”

Jesus gave his life and His all upon the Cross in the ultimate demonstration of the Love that gives all. In Him we have the promise of the life through the Bread of Life, His Body and His Blood as he dedicated the bread and wine we will shortly share. If we do not have the love that accepts the challenges and carries us through the lapses in faith and hope, we are lost. Those who walked away from Him in Judea walked away from Love. We must not make that same mistake.

“Lord to whom should we go?”

There is no hope, no faith and certainly no charity, except in Christ!

Amen.