God's Recruits

This week, we depart a little from the sermon series we are following from Brian McLaren's We Make the Road by Walking. Although we don't depart that far, it turns out. Chapter 9 is entitled Freedom! and deals with the escape of the Israelite slaves from Egypt (we have moved from Genesis to Exodus). McLaren makes the point that God is on the side of slaves rather than slave owners, and connects the Exodus story with the Passover meal shared by Jesus and his friends. He concludes that then, as now, the followers of Jesus are invited to join with him in the struggle to set others free.

There are many forms of slavery. I have just been reading of a major police operation in Oldham, where immigrants are trapped in various forms of modern slavery. Theresa May has nailed her colours to the mast, in wanting to stamp out people-trafficking. Today, I have been to a teaching day with Bishop James on Christian Lifestyle. We were reminded of the dangers of our present materialistic society and its idolatry of money and possessions. We end up being slaves of what we worship. The message of the Gospel brings freedom to anyone trapped within these or any other form of slavery, as history has shown many times.

Here is where there is a connection with the theme we follow tomorrow. It is All Saints Sunday, and we will be worshipping as a Team at All Saints church. There are many definitions of a saint, from the school boy who said a saint is 'a dead Roman Catholic' to that of Esther de Waal who wrote, 'a saint is a man or woman, sent from heaven, to guide this earthly life.' We will be thinking of Mary, who, if you think about it, has something in common with Moses, leader of the Exodus. Both were chosen by God to be instrumental in the work of joyful liberation. McLaren says this: Often, in the Bible, where there is a big problem God prepares a person or persons to act as God's partners or agents in solving it. In other words, God gets involved by challenging us to get involved.

So maybe another, simple definition of a saint is 'God's recruit'. In the New Testament, the whole People of God are called saints. All of us who bear Christ's name are God's recruits in the ongoing struggle for freedom for all. It is impossible to over-estimate just how important the Christian church is in God's ultimate purpose for creation.