Weakness Or Strength?
Sermon
The latest film version of "Tom Brown's Schooldays" was shown on television recently. Starring Stephen Fry as Dr Arnold, the new liberal and Christian headmaster of Rugby School, it highlighted the attitudes of society in the mid-1800s. The attitude to suffering particularly, was very different from today's attitude to suffering.
Before Tom went away to school at the age of about eleven, his father exhorted him to protect the weak, stand up to bullies, and say his prayers every night before he went to bed. Then he would grow up to become a man of whom the family could be proud.
But for Tom, the reality of life at school was in sharp contrast to the reality of life at home. School was a very tough world where only the strong survived and where the weak were terrorised by cruelty. The weak were despised with no thought as to the possible cause of their difficulties, while courage and strength were the major qualities to be admired.
When Arthur joined the school a year or so later, Tom was detailed to look after him. But Arthur was a prime example of everything most despised by both masters and boys alike. His father was dead and having been brought up by his mother and older sister, Arthur was gentle, effeminate and studious. Tom did his best to protect Arthur, standing up to the bullies on Arthur's behalf, but on one occasion when Tom was absent, Arthur was bundled into a sack which was tied at the neck and lowered into a well of freezing water, to the accompaniment of much jeering and laughter.
As a result of this Arthur became seriously ill, for it emerged that he had a heart problem. It was a sombre moment when Arthur died and everybody began to realise just how important he had been to the school, but even then there was plenty of stiff upper lip and only occasional glimpses of well-hidden emotion.
In the past the world has been a brutal place, where for most people life has been short and hard. So the attitude to suffering has been to face it bravely, to show little emotion and to get on with life as quickly as possible. This means that the human characteristics most valued by society throughout the ages have been courage and fortitude, while those most despised by society have been softness, weakness and surrender.
This is one of the reasons why early Christianity fell victim to Roman persecution. Christians were seen as gentle, loving Pacifists, qualities which we might admire and strive for today but which were utterly despised by the Romans as clear signs of weakness. Any spread of such a sea-change in attitude was dangerous to the integrity of the Roman Empire. The Romans needed men with courage and fortitude and strength who would fight to the death for Rome and for honour.
Way back in the sixth century BC, when Second Isaiah wrote his second servant poem which we read today, again the prevailing attitude was that the strong conquer the weak. Since the Israelites had been captured by a stronger power and were in exile in Babylon at the time, they were the weak and the despised.
The servant poems bring a completely new attitude to Israel, giving them hope, identifying qualities to be admired even though those qualities were universally regarded as signs of weakness by the surrounding tribes, and reassuring Israel of God's presence with them and God's hand in their fortunes. Suddenly, the gentle, loving characteristics of service are not to be despised but are to be emulated and admired.
Nobody knows quite who Isaiah had in mind when he wrote his servant poems. It may have been a particular individual or Israel herself. But later Christian writers have instantly identified the servant as Jesus of Nazareth. The servant has been designated by God for special office from before his birth, and prepared for the teaching and preaching of God's word. And as a light, a witness to God, the servant is seen as the ideal representative of Israel.
The servant will be responsible not only for the restoration of Israel, but will also bring all other nations of the world to worship God and will himself be worshipped by those kings and rulers who presently abhor him.
To a large extent, the world has witnessed this happening. Many governments and rulers are at least nominally Christian and Christianity has long been recognised as one of the major religions throughout the world. Kings and rulers do worship God in Christ. But there is perhaps a worrying increase in the feeling that might is right. We have seen an increase in racial tensions and bullying in our country to the extent that bullying is now a major problem in many schools, an increase in terrorism throughout the world and the use of extreme power in an attempt to combat that terrorism.
Although churches may preach and teach love and gentleness, the world outside seems to be moving away again from servant qualities, back to an exclusive admiration of physical strength and power.
But perhaps the world has misunderstood both strength and power. Throughout his life Jesus showed a fearlessness which is seldom matched even by the bravest. Jesus' fearlessness grew out of his genuine humility and lack of selfishness. Because God was the central core of Jesus' being, he had no thought of self to cause him to falter. Self simply didn't matter to Jesus, for his self was utterly enveloped in God.
Fearlessness like that produces enormous strength and enormous power. There has not been a human being on this earth before or since Jesus who can match him for courage, fearlessness, inner strength and power. But these characteristics have grown not from physical prowess, but from the servant qualities of love and gentleness and humility.
As Jesus knew and told his friends, those who would be strong and powerful must become the servants of all, those who would gain their lives must lose them and those who would be first must be last of all. It is through servanthood that we gain true strength and those with God as their inner core can never be beaten, for nothing can destroy love. Love - God - is stronger than any other power, for as St Paul said, perfect love casts out fear.
Isaiah knew it two and half millennia ago and Jesus proved it two thousand years ago, servant qualities are qualities of strength, not weakness. All we need to do now is to prove it ourselves through our own experience.
Before Tom went away to school at the age of about eleven, his father exhorted him to protect the weak, stand up to bullies, and say his prayers every night before he went to bed. Then he would grow up to become a man of whom the family could be proud.
But for Tom, the reality of life at school was in sharp contrast to the reality of life at home. School was a very tough world where only the strong survived and where the weak were terrorised by cruelty. The weak were despised with no thought as to the possible cause of their difficulties, while courage and strength were the major qualities to be admired.
When Arthur joined the school a year or so later, Tom was detailed to look after him. But Arthur was a prime example of everything most despised by both masters and boys alike. His father was dead and having been brought up by his mother and older sister, Arthur was gentle, effeminate and studious. Tom did his best to protect Arthur, standing up to the bullies on Arthur's behalf, but on one occasion when Tom was absent, Arthur was bundled into a sack which was tied at the neck and lowered into a well of freezing water, to the accompaniment of much jeering and laughter.
As a result of this Arthur became seriously ill, for it emerged that he had a heart problem. It was a sombre moment when Arthur died and everybody began to realise just how important he had been to the school, but even then there was plenty of stiff upper lip and only occasional glimpses of well-hidden emotion.
In the past the world has been a brutal place, where for most people life has been short and hard. So the attitude to suffering has been to face it bravely, to show little emotion and to get on with life as quickly as possible. This means that the human characteristics most valued by society throughout the ages have been courage and fortitude, while those most despised by society have been softness, weakness and surrender.
This is one of the reasons why early Christianity fell victim to Roman persecution. Christians were seen as gentle, loving Pacifists, qualities which we might admire and strive for today but which were utterly despised by the Romans as clear signs of weakness. Any spread of such a sea-change in attitude was dangerous to the integrity of the Roman Empire. The Romans needed men with courage and fortitude and strength who would fight to the death for Rome and for honour.
Way back in the sixth century BC, when Second Isaiah wrote his second servant poem which we read today, again the prevailing attitude was that the strong conquer the weak. Since the Israelites had been captured by a stronger power and were in exile in Babylon at the time, they were the weak and the despised.
The servant poems bring a completely new attitude to Israel, giving them hope, identifying qualities to be admired even though those qualities were universally regarded as signs of weakness by the surrounding tribes, and reassuring Israel of God's presence with them and God's hand in their fortunes. Suddenly, the gentle, loving characteristics of service are not to be despised but are to be emulated and admired.
Nobody knows quite who Isaiah had in mind when he wrote his servant poems. It may have been a particular individual or Israel herself. But later Christian writers have instantly identified the servant as Jesus of Nazareth. The servant has been designated by God for special office from before his birth, and prepared for the teaching and preaching of God's word. And as a light, a witness to God, the servant is seen as the ideal representative of Israel.
The servant will be responsible not only for the restoration of Israel, but will also bring all other nations of the world to worship God and will himself be worshipped by those kings and rulers who presently abhor him.
To a large extent, the world has witnessed this happening. Many governments and rulers are at least nominally Christian and Christianity has long been recognised as one of the major religions throughout the world. Kings and rulers do worship God in Christ. But there is perhaps a worrying increase in the feeling that might is right. We have seen an increase in racial tensions and bullying in our country to the extent that bullying is now a major problem in many schools, an increase in terrorism throughout the world and the use of extreme power in an attempt to combat that terrorism.
Although churches may preach and teach love and gentleness, the world outside seems to be moving away again from servant qualities, back to an exclusive admiration of physical strength and power.
But perhaps the world has misunderstood both strength and power. Throughout his life Jesus showed a fearlessness which is seldom matched even by the bravest. Jesus' fearlessness grew out of his genuine humility and lack of selfishness. Because God was the central core of Jesus' being, he had no thought of self to cause him to falter. Self simply didn't matter to Jesus, for his self was utterly enveloped in God.
Fearlessness like that produces enormous strength and enormous power. There has not been a human being on this earth before or since Jesus who can match him for courage, fearlessness, inner strength and power. But these characteristics have grown not from physical prowess, but from the servant qualities of love and gentleness and humility.
As Jesus knew and told his friends, those who would be strong and powerful must become the servants of all, those who would gain their lives must lose them and those who would be first must be last of all. It is through servanthood that we gain true strength and those with God as their inner core can never be beaten, for nothing can destroy love. Love - God - is stronger than any other power, for as St Paul said, perfect love casts out fear.
Isaiah knew it two and half millennia ago and Jesus proved it two thousand years ago, servant qualities are qualities of strength, not weakness. All we need to do now is to prove it ourselves through our own experience.
