evangelism – The Raynville Rambler

Will you come and follow me?

Sermon for St Peter’s Bramley, 17 September 2023.
Preceded by the sketch ‘The Call’ from John Bell’s ‘Jesus and Peter’.
Bible reading: Matthew 4:18-22

So there they were, Peter and his brother Andrew, just standing in their fishing boats a little way out in the lake, casting a net to catch fish. All in a day’s work. And along comes Jesus and tells them to follow him, which they do. So do James and John, another fishing crew, a few minutes later. Can it really be that simple?

It seems more likely from the other versions of this story in the Bible that these fishermen had been among the crowds who heard John the Baptist and Jesus himself teaching, before this encounter. That might be you – you’ve heard about Jesus, but never really stopped to think how he might be speaking to you personally. The sketch we’ve just seen explores the sort of conversation that may have occurred on the day, when Jesus challenged them what their response would be to what they had heard.

I want to explore briefly three of the questions that Peter asks, because they’re the sort of questions that lots of people ask when they’ve heard something about Jesus but don’t really know how to respond, whether to follow him or not.

Q1 – with map and GPS unit

Firstly he asks “Where are you going?” Well, how do you find out where you’re going, or more often, how to get where you know you ought to be going? I’m of the older generation and I still like to use a paper map – this one helps me find my way around the Leeds area. But I also have a GPS unit for my bike, that tells me exactly where I am and which direction to head next. If you have a new car you may have a Satnav system built in that does the same job. But you need to know your destination first. Jesus couldn’t just give Peter a postcode, because for the next three years they were going to be wandering round what we now call Israel and Syria all the time, going wherever God called them and the need was greatest.

When Jesus said to Peter in the sketch that he wasn’t giving an answer because “you might not like it”, he meant that it wouldn’t always be easy. Being a Christian does have its challenges and God often calls people to move to a new place, perhaps more than once, to serve him. It’s a life-changing call, but those who accept it find that actually, we do like it very much!

Q2 – with Bible

The second question is “Just tell me what I need”. Jesus’ answer is quite clear – “just bring yourself”. Of course Peter’s friends came with him, but the point is he needed no special preparation. Not everyone who starts on the Christian life needs to literally leave behind their only means of making a living as Peter did, but what Jesus does ask us all is to bring the gifts and skills he has already given us. Jesus may have seen in Peter and his colleagues a group of young men who were hard-working and courageous, but also patient and prepared to take advice and take risks (as Mark’s version of this story shows us). Those were the qualities, the ‘transferable skills’ to use a modern phrase, that they would need as they went around with Jesus. You might well ask yourself, what skills has God already given me that I could use for him? The other point to make is that in starting afresh following Jesus, we can also leave behind the things that trouble us – you may have heard the phrase ‘born again’, but that basically means putting behind you all the things you are guilty or troubled about in your past life, and starting over with a clean slate. The only other thing you will need, of course, is the Bible – used wisely, it’s still the best guide to how to put those skills to good use.

Q3 – with mirror

At the end of the sketch, Peter asks “Do you want me to end up like you?” it sounds critical, and maybe it is. Let’s be honest, the Church often doesn’t have a good reputation. People have an image of boring old people singing ancient hymns and talking fancy language. Or of someone with a collection plate asking for money as soon as they go in the door. They think they will be judged by their appearance or accent if they go to church. Mostly of course that’s very far from the truth. I hope you got a good welcome today and you’re finding this service easy to follow, and dare I say it, even fun.

But beneath a question like this is a deeper one, that really means “I hope I won’t have to change”. And the answer to that is in fact, “yes, you will” – but “you will change for the better”. (mirror) I’m looking now at someone who has changed a lot since he first heard about Jesus forty years ago, but who knows he still has a long way to go to become like Jesus. The journey of following Jesus will change us into better people, if we really let him into our lives. Can you see a better person in here?

These questions, then: “Where are you going?” “Just tell me what I need” “Do you want me to end up like you?”– they are real questions that real people ask. To rephrase them slightly, they are the anxieties we all have to address whenever we face a new step in life: “What’s the goal?” “What do I need to achieve it”? and “How will it change me?”

Maybe Grace’s parents have been asking themselves those questions since her birth. They are honest questions, that deserve honest answers, and sometimes the answers aren’t simple, quick or easy. We may not understand the whole of the answers, or even the questions, until we’ve been on the road with Jesus for a long time. But they are important questions to ask at the start, if we are to understand what it is that Jesus calls us to. Also, someone who asks questions is ready to learn, and those are the followers Jesus wants.

One question that Peter didn’t ask is “Where do I start from?” The answer was obvious: from this beach, today. Jesus doesn’t answer Peter’s question about becoming like him, instead he just asks for the last time, “are you coming with me?” Because that’s the only way we can change. Life with Jesus can start for you, here and now, as you are.

Well, it’s time for me to go now….. Are you coming?

Sent by the Lord am I

The song I chose for 8 June (with a slight delay in posting my thoughts on it) was “Sent by the Lord am I”, with words by Jorge Maldonado and a tune arranged by John Bell. It’s a short, straight-through song, although the second pair of lines is a repeat of the first, so it is usually sung more than once.

The message conveyed by the words is that ‘my’ task (actually that of all of us, to a lesser or greater extent) is to “make the earth the place in which the kingdom comes”, the reason being that even the angels are unable to do so. While it’s always good to be motivated to play our part in bringing about God’s Kingdom, this seems to me to portray God as an absentee landlord who has just told us to get on with things. In fact, the Gospel message is surely that God has sent the Holy Spirit to bring about the Kingdom following Jesus’ victory over evil on the Cross, but that we play our part by being open to the Spirit working in us and giving us the gifts needed for the task.

Sing the gospel of salvation

Today’s hymn from Sing Praise is “Sing the Gospel of salvation” by Michael Forster. The theme is evangelism, but he recognises that what was once seen as a tension between evangelism and tackling injustice is now more widely regarded as two complimentary ways of participating in God’s mission. The ‘gospel of salvation’ is the explanation of how Jesus came to reconcile the world to God, with an invitation to individuals to align their lives with him. ‘Social action’ by the Church (the phrase is not used here but that is what it is about) is the practical ways in which that reconciliation is worked out in individual lives – mostly outside the church building.

The three verses therefore explore different ways in which people are excluded from their full potential as human beings, and the ways in which by the proclamation of the Gospel and their turning to Christ those exclusions can be addressed. As the first verse puts it “all the darkness of injustice cannot dim salvation’s light, for the outcast and exploited count as worthy in God’s sight”.

The second and third verses both refer to Jesus as the Shepherd, a name he used for himself as the one who leads people back to God as well as protecting us from danger – “Those who recognize the saviour take their place within the fold”. The last verse celebrates the new creation, begun on earth but to be fulfilled in heaven, as “the victims of injustice [are] now redeemed and glorified”, and as “fear and weeping are ended, hunger and oppression cease”. We know that in practice the injustices of human society will never be completely done away with until Christ’s reign is fully established, but it is the Church’s call to share that hope and faith for the future, while doing what we can to alleviate suffering here and now in the name of the one whose gospel we proclaim.

The love of God comes close

Today’s hymn from Sing Praise is John Bell’s “The love of God comes close”, which is set here to its original tune called ‘Melanie’ (I wonder who she was?), but I have heard it previously sung to the Welsh tune Rhosymedre, which in my opinion fits it better. The full words, and suggestions for alternative tunes, can be found here.

I find the words of this hymn helpful in understanding the Church’s task of witness, evangelism or outreach (choose your preferred term). The central idea is that God is truly closest to us (in a spiritual sense – we can’t meaningfully ascribe a physical distance to or from God) not when we are doing the obviously ‘religious’ things but in some of the ordinary actions of life. The refrain at the end of each verse is in the form “The [property] of God is here to stay, embracing those who walk his way”, where the property in question echoes the first line of the verse: love, peace, joy, grace, and in the last verse the Son of God.

Some of those ‘ordinary actions’, as verse 1 suggests, are around showing hospitality – “where stands an open door, to let the stranger in, to mingle [or in some hymn books, ‘to welcome’] rich and poor”. Hospitality, as our PCC agreed at a virtual meeting yesterday, should be what people first experience when they meet us as Christians. So here’s a shout out to the people of St Philip and St James, Scholes near Bradford who welcomed me in for coffee and a chat today when I was just calling in the course of my work to drop something off at the vicarage.

The middle verses (2-4) are more about God being present when life is difficult. They offer God’s peace to those who are caught in the storms of life, or who make the effort to help others in those storms; his joy “where faith encounters fears”, for a true faith is not afraid to face fear; and his grace “when hearts are tired or sore and hope is bruised or bent”. The church’s needs to be not only, and not initially, with the challenge to turn to God from wrong ways (although it includes that), but to find that he is already present where life has forced people into difficult circumstances or wrong choices.

The final verse returns to the heart of our faith in Jesus: “The Son of God comes close where people praise his name, where bread and wine are blessed and shared, as when he came”. It is right that this should come last, not because it’s least important in our witness, but because we need first to show people they are welcome, and that God accepts and comforts them as they are, before they can feel part of our fellowship. Then we can move on to explain the significance of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.

Make way, make way

Today’s offering from Sing Praise is another one that’s familiar to me, Graham Kendrick’s “Make way, Make way”. It comes from a suite of worship songs called “Make Way for the Cross”, described as “a celebration and a proclamation of the heart of the Gospel, designed to be used as an outdoor or indoor event”. Several of the other songs from that suite have also remained popular, such as “Come and see the King of Love” and “Let the flame burn brighter”. Taken as a whole, they cover the story of Holy Week, but this one can stand alone as a processional song for Palm Sunday, a joyful celebration of Jesus coming into Jerusalem as the Messiah, before the leaders turned the crowd against him.

In the first verse we are encouraged to “fling wide the gates and welcome him”, not into Jerusalem, but in to our lives. It’s widely understood in evangelism that no amount of preaching and teaching will bring someone to Jesus until they make that decision to open their heart to him.

The second verse is what is sometimes called the ‘Nazareth manifesto’ in which Jesus explained at the start of his public ministry the signs that he would do to show who he was – heal broken hearts, set prisoners free, make the deaf hear, the lame walk and the blind see. These signs he did in fact perform, both physically and also spiritually as he set people free not only from actual diseases and disabilities but also from various forms of religious oppression, discrimination and persecution, as explained in the third verse – “those who mourn with heavy hearts, who weep and sigh, with laughter, joy and royal crown he’ll beautify”.

The last verse is again a call to a personal response: “We call you now to worship him as Lord of all, to have no other gods but him – their thrones must fall”. Again, this should be understood in the context for which the song was written, an outdoor procession or service as an act of public witness intended to make onlookers think again of the relevance of the life and death of Jesus to their own life.

Experiences of God in the clouds

sermon preached at St Margaret’s Bramley, 3 March 2019

This week, the General Synod of the Church of England took Evangelism as its main theme. Evangelism in quite a wide sense of commending God to other people through our own experience, as well as in a narrower sense of passing on the teachings of the Church to a new generation. One of the speakers at Synod described Christians as “Trip-Advisers for Jesus”. I presume he meant that we can rate our spiritual experiences and share them with others, just as certain websites allow you to do the same with your holidays. For at its core, evangelism is a personal thing, and we cannot pass on to others what we ourselves have not experienced.

It’s that last word – “experienced” – that I want to dwell on today. Too many people still think that being a Christian is either all about “believing the Bible” (however you choose to interpret that), or “going to church”. But when we actually read the Bible, most of it is about people’s experiences rather than their beliefs or religious practice.

Experiences of God can take many forms – listen again to just two verses from today’s Gospel. “While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’” (Luke 9:34-35). Hear the experiences there – “overshadowed”, “terrified”, “entered the cloud”, “listen!” Jesus didn’t take those disciples up the mountain to preach another sermon, he wanted them to have an experience, an emotional experience, that would stay with them and change them.

Narrowing it down even further, the one word that I want to focus on from that verse is “cloud”. It’s a word that occurs many times in the Bible. Sometimes the cloud is a literal one, sometimes more symbolic. But always the focus is on experience. Let’s just run through a few of these to get the idea. I expect you will have heard of these people.

Noah no doubt saw rather a lot of clouds during the forty days of rain. But at the end of the story when he and his family were back on dry land, he saw a rainbow in the clouds. And he experienced God saying, “When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” For Noah, the beautiful colour of the rainbow became a way of understanding God’s faithfulness.

Moses went up Mount Sinai to receive the Law, in thick cloud and smoke, along with fire and a sound like the blast of a trumpet. Earlier in life he had experienced the burning bush in the desert. Out of such experiences, a confusion of sights, sounds and smells, and a terrible sense of awe, came the conviction that God was giving his people instructions for living.

Solomon experienced a cloud filling the Temple – in this case the cloud represents the presence or glory of God. He had to cease his carefully rehearsed acts of worship and instead stand in awe as he sensed the real presence of God. Out of this and other experiences he became the wisest of people. Isaiah had a similar experience in the Temple, which brought him to a place of great humility.

Daniel, in Babylon with the Jewish people in exile, saw a vision concerning the last days, in which “One like a Son of Man came with the clouds of Heaven”. His spirit was troubled and the vision terrified him. But from that experience he recognised that God would give to the Son of Man dominion, honour, glory and kingship for ever.

Coming back to Peter, James and John on the mount of Transfiguration, their own experience of being lost in the cloud with Jesus and his ghostly companions also terrified them, to the extent that they told no-one about it until after the Resurrection when it all started to make sense, that Jesus was in fact a new lawgiver like Moses, a new prophet like Elijah, and also Daniel’s “son of man”. Sometimes it’s only long after an experience that we can reflect on it and make sense of it.

I suggest that in all these experiences of the cloud, God is wanting people to be aware of what they experience (that is, by sight, sound, smell or any other sensation), and what the feel (that is, in their emotions)? Out of that, he asks the question, “who do you say that I am?”

Noah may have responded to that last question with “The One whose Covenant is sure, never again to destroy mankind”. Moses would have said “the Lord our God, who brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery”. Solomon – “The Lord whose glory fills the Temple”, Daniel – “The Ancient of Days”. Jesus’ disciples were given the words by the voice from the cloud – “This is my Son, my Chosen”.

Of course, few of us will ever experience anything so dramatic as those prophets and apostles. What might experiences of the cloud of God’s presence look like in practice for you or me? I can’t speak for you, because the glorious truth is that everyone’s experience of God is personal and unique. I can only speak for myself, so here are a few times in my own journey of faith when clouds have featured prominently.

The first time I flew in an aircraft, as a child, with a heart filled with wonder I looked down on the clouds. Grey and flat from below, above they billow like cotton wool, reflecting the full light of the sun. No human had seen this before we learnt to fly. At that time, aged ten, I would not have called myself a Christian – I just hadn’t given any thought to the question yet – but looking back on that and other times I’ve flown, I would reply to the question, Who do you say that I am, by saying “the Creator who made all things for Your glory. You delight in that which humans have not yet seen and have prepared what we cannot imagine.”

Years later as a young adult, I again found myself above the clouds, this time on a mountain top in France. I was using that holiday to explore a sense of vocation. I had walked though the small hours of the night with a local guide to reach the top of the mountain not long after sunrise. What I saw was cloud that covered the valley below us. As the cloud lifted in the morning sun it revealed a lake far below. In the silence birds flew round us. We stayed there for some time, rejoicing at the beauty of this scene. I thanked our guide, who led us through the cloud and up the mountain. To God’s question Who do you say that I am? I replied, “the Guide who can be trusted to lead me to what I do not know, revealing your beauty along the way.”

Some years later again, when Linda and I were newly engaged, we stood together one evening by the kitchen sink, looking out as clouds gathered at dusk, glowing ever deeper with blazing red. Never had we seen such a sunset. We stood in awe of our Creator and in love with each other. Our answer to the question then was, “You are the God of power and passion. You brought us together and we will trust you in our relationship.” Like Noah, this sign in the heavens became a personal sign of God’s love.

Of course, not all emotions are happy ones, not all experiences are pleasant, and life has its ups and downs. Going back a few years, I went on holiday by myself to get over the end of a previous relationship. Walking alone across cloud-covered hills, I found the mist surrounding me to be a consolation at a time when I felt depressed. God’s presence in solitude embraced me, and to the question “Who do you say that I am?” I could reply “the constant lover, the One who never turns away but always understands.”

Those, then, are some examples of how God’s presence can be felt, experienced, enjoyed (or not). This imagery of clouds is just one that happened to resonate with today’s readings. There are many other kinds of experience. What I would encourage you to do is ponder how your own experiences, everyday or out of the ordinary, of the world around you, can speak to you of God’s presence.

We are not disembodied minds, we have God-given bodies that sense the world around through touch, taste, smells, sights and sounds, sense our own minds through our emotions, and sense also God’s spirit within us. The truth is that it is only in experiencing God with and through our physical senses and emotions, that we can come close to saying that we know him.

Coming back from the sublime to – I daren’t say the ridiculous, but the mundane, with the General Synod and its discussions on evangelism. It is when we are able to make sense of our experiences and share our insights with other people, that we are able to engage in the sort of evangelism that the Archbishop of Canterbury was talking about this week when he said this –

“When we talk of evangelism and discipleship, we are talking about a radically, differently shaped Church, which starts with being filled afresh with the Spirit of God, consumed with the love of God for us, for the world, and obsessed by the vision of God for the world, which we seek to change to show the shape of his love.”

So hang on to those moments when the world around you was suddenly lit up with the flame of God’s presence, when the place you were worshipping became for a moment filled with the glory of God, or conversely when the quietness of a misty day or a silent place touched you with his gentleness. Sharing those experiences with other people may be the best form of evangelism you can offer.

Biblical references

Noah: Genesis 8:1-9:17

Moses: Exodus 19:9-25

Solomon: 1 Kings 8:9-13

Daniel: Daniel 7:1-13

Jesus and the disciples: Mark 9:2-9 / Luke 9:28-36

The Bible in a Year – 5 December

If this is your first viewing, please see my Introduction before reading this

5 December. Acts chapters 17-19

Paul is often held up as the example of a great evangelist, indeed one of the greatest orators, for he was able to be (as he writes elsewhere) “all things to all people”. Among Jews he argued as a rabbi using their scriptures (17:2,11); in the debating place among philosophers he used the dedication of an altar to an “unknown God” to start speaking of the true God who is invisible but knowable (17:23); he could quote secular poetry (17:28) as well as religious texts. Not only was he gifted in public speaking but he could work with individuals too, Romans (18:7) as well as Greeks; he could encourage individuals who only had a limited understanding of the faith but going deeper with them (19:1-7). He could also write complex theology in his letters. If that was not enough, he performed healing miracles and cast out demons in the name of Jesus, as Jesus had done himself (19:11-12)

But in all this he continued to face opposition from many quarters: from Jews who opposed him as a heretic, from Greeks who scoffed at his illogical claims of resurrection, and from Romans who thought Christianity a dangerous cult. There was opposition too from the idol-makers whose livelihood he had disrupted (19:21-40). These various groups seemed to be able to draw on a “rent-a-mob” who didn’t even know what they were supposed to be demonstrating about (19:32).

If Paul had been around today, I am sure that he would have experienced much the same. Religious conservatives, outspoken humanists and atheists, secular authorities who don’t know what to make of faith communities, powerful lobby groups with financial interests, and crowds of demonstrators – they are all still with us, and the ever-challenging message of the Gospel still attracts opposition from them all.

Paul would also undoubtedly have been a media presence. His Twitter account would have had millions of followers (and attracted trolls too). He would have been delighted to have been able to set down his theology in blog posts followed by thousands rather than letters to be heard by a few dozen. He could have argued with the Corinthians instantly by messenger apps, rather than exchange postal correspondence over a period of months. And no doubt would have been a popular contributor to “thought for the day” on Radio Athens and a controversial guest on chat shows.

But on the other hand, how long would such conversations endure? How much of what is spoken, blogged and tweeted today will be searchable even in ten years, let alone two thousand? The power and longevity of the written word – whether Paul’s letters, or Luke’s record of his travels, has meant that his writings and actions have endured down to this day as an inspiration and a challenge. Let’s hear it for @Paul_Tarsus.

The Bible in a Year – 17 November

If this is your first viewing, please see my Introduction before reading this.

17 November. Luke chapter 8-9

These chapters are “bitty” – they consist of about twenty short anecdotes or recollections of the words and works of Jesus in different places. I can however see a common theme in five of them:

In explaining the parable of the sower, Jesus says “The seed is the word of God. The ones on the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved” (8:11-12).

In sending out his twelve closest disciples, Jesus tells them among other instructions, “Wherever they do not welcome you, as you are leaving that town shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them’” (9:5).

Likewise, when the inhabitants of a Samaritan village refused to accept him, Jesus criticised his disciples for praying against those people, but merely moved on to the next village (9:53-56).

In speaking of those who feel unable to “carry the cross” (I.e. to experience rejection or hardship of any kind because they follow him), he says “What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves?” (9:25).

Finally, when people made excuses for not following him (such as being recently bereaved, or having family ties that they were reluctant to break) he said “No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (9:62).

What all these have in common is that not everyone who saw Jesus perform miracles and heard his incomparable teaching about the meaning of life actually believed in or followed him. Some turned away, some were indifferent and some actively opposed him.

So it is not surprising that the same is true today. Seeking new disciples (witnessing, evangelism, nurture, outreach, mission – whatever you call it) will always be disappointing if we expect instant results. The majority of people will always either fail to understand the Gospel message, or be too busy with other things to really engage with it, or may even feel threatened by it and reject it (and thereby reject Jesus himself).

Jesus’ reaction to that seems to along the lines of “keep calm and carry on” – if one village rejects you, try another. If one person doesn’t engage with what you are trying to tell them, speak to someone else. The fault is theirs, not yours, and it is for God to decide, ultimately, whether they have chosen to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Bible in a Year – 10 October

If this is your first viewing, please see my Introduction before reading this.

10 October. 1 Thessalonians chapters 1-5

The first of St Paul’s letters to the Christians in Thessalonica is perhaps the most positive of all his writings. There is little of criticism here, but rather encouragement and thankfulness. He wants them to know that he is pleased with not only their conversion to the faith, but the way they stick to it. Towards the end of the letter he reminds them of the need to remain faithful to the gospel message, even (or especially) as difficult times come upon them.

The language that Paul uses, not only here but in some of his other letters, when he describes his feelings towards those he has pastored, are quite astonishing – in Galatians he compares his prayers for them to the pains of a woman in childbirth (Paul was probably unmarried, so perhaps he can be excused for this exaggeration). In this letter he reminds the Thessalonians of his approach in teaching them: “We speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts. As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others” (2:4-6).

The work of an evangelist or priest is not easy. Even as a Reader – a part-time, voluntary assistant minister in the Church of England – I find the challenge of “presenting the Gospel afresh in this generation”, and of being a pastoral friend to the congregation, demands more of my time and effort than I can easily give. Even in our small church fellowship there are many needy people; more come with their children to be baptised; many more than they attend activities that take place in the church buildings (children’s groups, drama groups, exercise classes, parenting classes and son on). And that is without considering the thousands in our parish who never have any connection with the church.

Where is the reward in this? Paul focuses on the few who have responded to the Gospel and become believers. “For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? Yes, you are our glory and joy!” (2:19-20). We need not worry too much about those we never meet, or those who ignore the opportunities to engage with the Church. If I have the privilege of helping even a small number of people to become, not merely members of our parish church but members of the Body of Christ, it will have been worth it.

The Bible in a Year – 4 October

If this is your first viewing, please see my Introduction before reading this.

4 October. 2 Chronicles chapters 30-32

Today we read of the triumphs (at least the religious ones) of king Hezekiah. Since the reign of Azariah in chapter 22 there has been a fundamental rift between the northern and southern kingdoms. In chapter 30 Hezekiah attempts to heal this, not politically but religiously, as he encourages all the tribes once again to celebrate the Passover together as in days of old. But apart from a few individuals, the northerners in Israel scoff at his messengers and fail to come to the feast. Maybe that was in Jesus’ mind when he told the parable of a banquet to which those who were invited refused to come (Luke 14: I will be preaching on that at our Harvest Festival this Sunday).

Nevertheless, for those who do come, and for the people of Judah, this is a great feast – held a month late, but for two weeks instead of the usual one. Many of those who attend have not carried out the required rituals of preparation, but Hezekiah wisely allows them to participate: “The good Lord pardon all who set their hearts to seek God, the Lord the God of their ancestors, even though not in accordance with the sanctuary’s rules of cleanness” (30:19). That echoes the frequent debates heard in churches about who should be admitted to Holy Communion – only those baptised or confirmed as adults, or anyone baptised (even as an infant), or anyone who says they believe in Jesus? Hezekiah would have been with the inclusive churches.

Many seem to have been ‘converted’ (or had their faith ‘refreshed’) at this Passover. Afterwards, they are inspired to go home and tear down the ‘high places’ – the remaining pagan shrines in their territory – and to make generous donations of animals and produce to the Temple. It does tend to be at large gatherings, when religious fervour is stirred up, that people are moved to go and take action, change their lives, repent of practices they are now convinced are wrong, or share their faith with others. The call to give sacrificially to the cause also tends to get a good response in such gatherings.

That is why ‘revivals’ are based on well advertised meetings in large venues with well known speakers or ‘miracle workers’, while quieter forms of evangelism are carried on week by week in small groups and one-to-one conversations. Both are equally valid, and which one will “work” for an individual will depend as much on their own personality type as anything. The only caution is that sometimes the religious fervour of the newly converted can spill over into insensitive pressurising of others to commit to the faith, something that really should be an unpressurised decision.

This religious triumph is followed in chapter 32 by a military challenge: the Assyrians under Sennacherib attack Judean towns and threaten Jerusalem itself. But a combination of fervent prayer for deliverance led by the prophet Isaiah, and the wise tactical step of cutting off the invading army’ water supply, sends Sennacherib packing back to his homeland and to his death. So with the country of Judah in the grip of a religious revival, and deliverance from the enemy, Hezekiah earns his places as one of the greatest kings of Judah.